1 - The Bob Dylan and the Eddie Veddar are the best.
2 - I got a wonderful surprise this week when the nice people at PartyPail contacted me and said they'd seen JP's first birthday party, which had a Red, White, & Blue theme. They thought it looked pretty good and gave me this:
So yay!
3 - JF's and Ben's birthday party is this weekend. It's pirate themed and they're really excited. When I made the invitations I posted a picture of my progress on IG and Facebook and all these people started telling me to dye them with tea bags or burn the edges.
Now, I get that people were probably thinking, "Bonnie has hand drawn 15 birthday invitations on crumpled, torn paper so it looks like a treasure map. Obviously she will want to take it one step further and make them look really awesome instead of just pretty great, as they are now. I'll tell her about tea and charred edges."
But people were wrong.
I do not have time to soak a bunch of paper in tea, lay it out to dry, touch up any of the print (it was Crayola markers - I'd probably have to do it all again), and then carefully burn the edges of them all when they were good and dry.
Okay, actually, I could have made the time for all that.
But I am lazy. I used some brown ink to "dirty" them up and called it a day.
4 - Who draws a bottle of rum on a 4 year old's birthday invitation?
Whatever, we have plenty if anyone needs some to make it through the afternoon. JP has taken to getting into the liquor cabinet and carrying bottles around the house so I'm sure he'll probably bring you some Captain Morgan anyways.
5 - Today's goals:
Make English muffins.
Clean and declutter the kitchen.
Finish putting away laundry in our bedroom (there's 3 baskets).
6 -You guys! I was on Instagram last night and crainemom had the cutest pic of an autumnal banner she'd made out of newspaper and leaves. I begged her to blog about it so it could be pinned! She obliged, I pinned, and I cannot wait to make a similar one. It is so cute, so simple, so clever, so pretty. Love.
7 - This movie looks really good. Girls night out anyone?
1 - Here's my submission for Kelly's lip sync battle. The gauntlet has been thrown down! We win by the person with the most thumbs up on YouTube so please head over and vote for me, all ya'all!
2 - Speaking of L, she had her first day of 1st grade on Monday. Look at my beautiful sweetie pie!
She's excited about the peanut butter cookies she made for her teacher.
On her first day of kindergarten she wanted to be the Queen of all Butterflies. Now she wants to be a veterinarian like our friend Liz. She also wants to learn "to do math in the 100's."
Sitting in her desk, ready to learn. What a cutie!
3 - I'm going to do a little shameless blog promotion here. Anna Hatke (@annamberto) gave some really beautiful answers in her profile in my Instagrammers You Should Follow series. One of my favorite parts is this: I actually made a conscious choice to be a public account at one point because I realized that it was one small way I could open my house to the stranger at the door. American life is very private, unnaturally private even, and as a Christian I have always loved how Christ encountered people, usually on the streets in the midst of their normal lives, and always first as persons. We don't have a lot of opportunities for that, especially those of us who stay at home raising children. So for me Instagram is like a little commons, a piazza if you will. We can encounter people "on the street." I like that Instagram offers me a chance to show my faith in my daily life and in a way that is natural and uncontrived.
You should go read the rest. And then read Nancy's. And then come back here and finish these quick takes.
Also, I finally got around to making another video and this one has some basic information on Adoration and includes reference to the Yo Dawg meme so you know it's good.
4 - The other day I was super domestic and the kids were super good so I was able to make home made bagels and chocolate chip cookies. I also blanched and froze corn my grandpa brought us from his nephew's farm. It was actually kinda fun.
Blanching
Cold water bathing
Cooling and drying
Cutting the corn from the cob.
Freezing and ready for the winter.
5 - Here's what I've been up to today:
Went to the library to pick up Daddy Long Legs which is my book club's next pick. My library has a drive up window - how cool is that?
I also bought some new earrings at WalMart for $1 and then came home and made a giant rice krispie treat in the shape of a crown for today's feast: The Queenship of Mary.
Also, this happened:
6 - Just a reminder, folks, that Leila Lawler, blogger at Like Mother, Like Daughter and author of The Little Oratory, will be speaking in Washington, Illinois tomorrow, Saturday the 23rd. Hope you can come!
7 - Mary and Courtney.have been on my heart and mind a lot lately. I've been offering up lots of extra prayers and most of my sufferings for Mary and her family. For a very long time I could not read Mary's blog. Courtney, you see, is very much like what JF should have been: blind, diapers, feeding tube, seizures, confined to a wheelchair. He was also supposed to have very severe cerebral palsy so that his body would be locked and contorted but the similarities were enough. Peering into Courtney's world was too painful for me and I felt nothing but guilt. Guilt that my baby was healed while Mary and Courtney suffered so much. For the longest time, every time I looked at Passionate Perseverance I felt like I needed to apologize. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you're going through this and I'm not." I was still so afraid of the JF who was supposed to be. I was still going through the grief of it all. Heck, every time I tell JF's story I go through the grief of it all.
But then I started to notice something. Mary kept linking up with What I Wore Sunday. She was so cute and sassy and well dressed. She was vibrant and I stopped feeling guilty around her and started wanting to be like her. Her joy, her love, her passion - it was all so palpable. Mary's witness has done more to heal my heart than probably any other blog. God has used her and Courtney and their whole family to bring me closer to Him. I am so grateful.
Because of my gratitude for all Mary has done I am really, truly, sincerely asking you to pray for her, her husband, and children. Courtney's doctor have told them to prepare for the end. Lord have mercy on us all.
- I am an ENFJ, for those of you who like that sort of thing. But I'm almost an INFJ and depending on the test I actually am an INFJ.
- You may also describe me as choleric and sanguine, if that's what you prefer.
- I look like I'm five months pregnant but I'm not. I'm not pregnant at all. Just fat, thanks for not asking.
- I have strong opinions but I still like hearing yours.
- I'll discuss politics and religion with you as long as we can both be respectful. We can disagree but sometimes that's more interesting for me - I like learning about what people think and why. If I can't be respectful then I'll need to bow out of the conversation. Sometimes it happens.
- I hate driving in big cities.
- I wear sunglasses over my eyeglasses. It's dorky and a lame mom thing to do that will one day embarrass my kids, but it works and it's cheaper than prescription sunglasses or contacts.
- Speaking of which, I'm cheap.
- I don't like pets. Like 98% of the time I am not gonna like your pet. That's not to say I dislike pets or even animals. I love farm animals, zoo animals, animals outside in nature... and I'm pretty neutral about most pets. Think of me what you will.
- That said, I HATE mice. And voles. And moles. And rats. And other rodenty creatures. When I see them I start to gag. Chipmunks, though, chipmunks I like.
- I'm trying to do better and be better. If I'm missing the mark you can gently let me know and I'll appreciate it forever.
- I should be working on something else.
This picture has nothing to do with anything but it's pretty and I'm warm.
I finally got my act together to join up with Kendra's fun Answer Me This! link up. It's my first time and I'm happy to be a part of it.
1. What’s something you've won and how did you win it?
I won first runner up in a beauty pageant once, which is actually losing so maybe this doesn't count. I won it by being awesome, but not awesome enough.
2. Do you save old greeting cards and letters, or throw them all away? Why?
Some cards I do keep. First birthday cards for the kids, very touching ones, ones from my husband, and the ones my friend Katie makes. Her cards are like folk art.
I kept a bunch of letters from my nun friends when they first entered their religious communities but lately I haven't had to, even though I still have the box of the older ones under my bed.
I don't like keeping things but some things I do want to hang on to for sentimental reasons and because I want my children to be able to decided in a card from their great grandparents is precious or not.
3. When you’re at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?
Barefoot almost always, though in winter I may keep my socks on if I'm going to be running in and out. If I'm not leaving the house all day socks are never going on my feet.
4. Who’s the most famous person you have ever met?
I'm not sure. I met Davy Jones from The Monkees, JJ Heller, and Audrey Assad. And Marie Miller.
I met authors Dave Eggers and Michael Chabon. I know artist Jude Landry.
In the Catholic world of celebrities I've met Fr. Andrew Apostoli and Teresa Tomeo. Via phone call I've "met" Patrick Madrid and Simcha Fisher. I've met Jennifer Fulwiler, Hallie Lord, Danielle Bean, Lisa Hendey, Brandon Vogt, Kendra Tierney, Kelly Mantoan, Sarah Babbs, and some other blogger celebrities.
I think that the most famous of those people will all depend on who you are and what your background is. For me, I would LOVE to meet Fr. Robert Barron, our two popes, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and the entire Hensley family (so dad the theologian, son the pianist, daughter the blogger and YouTube sensation, and mom who probably is the one doing all the heavy lifting).
5. What has been your best work of art?
I don't consider myself artistic and I'm mediocre at a lot of what I do. Which is my way of saying, I don't have an answer for this question.
Take, for example, this dinner roll. You can't let formed rolls rise overnight or they'll fall and look like an old woman's upper arm. I still baked them.
Life came and swept me away and things have been crazy around here.
Poor L had an allergic reaction following some fillings and her lip swelled to four times its normal size and then blistered over. Multiple trips to the dentist and our family doctor followed. Poor girl; she's tired of the attention it's bringing her and she just wants to look pretty and not have a bleeding lip.
Travis, who lives by the motto "Happy Wife: Happy Life" busted up our old patio and poured a new one for me two days before JP's big 1st birthday party. Thank God for my wonderful in-laws who were all able to come down and help with the process!
The day before the party was the first ever Sheen Family Day. There were crafts and cookies, pictures with Fulton Sheen, tours of the Sheen Museum and St. Mary's Cathedral. We estimate 125 people came through which is really great!
Kendra and 6 of her 7 kids came down for the Sheen Day and the birthday party. They came over for dinner Saturday night and in a moment of panic my husband bought 6 loaves of garlic bread and two gallons of pasta from our local fast food Italian place. It was more than enough.
The next day her older two kept my kids busy while my friend Kim blew up balloons, Kendra cleaned my house, decorated, and cut up fruit, and my mom did a bunch of other things like changing diapers. Travis and his brother literally built the step for the new patio as guests were arriving for the party. One friend had to go buy ketchup (106 burgers, brats, and hot dogs and NO ketchup) and another bought 4 bags of ice. The whole lip thing really threw off my week and we just weren't ready. But people are good and generous and want to help and so the party was still a success.
The party, which included 81 of our closest friends and family members, was a blast. It was a bit warm but the kids loved playing outside and I think everyone had a lot of fun.
JF had a outpatient procedure earlier in the week and finally finally! things are back to normal. Whew.
I have all kinds of drafts sitting and waiting to be typed but I obviously haven't had the time or mental capacity to write lately.
Thanks for sticking with me and as a Thank You gift I offer you: The Best of the Web!
Now that I've done a couple of vlogs you can totally hear my voice in your head while you read me, right?
Right?
Right?
Moving on.
Grace has upped the awesome even! more! and made this totally cute video about how she doesn't work. It's perfect and funny and sweet. Go watch it!
And I'm diggin' this new website.
I had an idea:
Maybe Venerable Edel's beatification miracle can be that The Edel Gathering website doesn't crash at 10:02 am Eastern time while 500 women try to buy tickets.
Jen and Hallie are not laughing.
And actually neither am I. I feel nervous for them about any potential glitches and I've been praying. (Does that sound silly? I'm serious - I know what this is like and I want them to succeed and enjoy it!)
Also, you know those moments when you realize something and you're like, "That's the best idea every!" but then you feel like an idiot because really it's a very simple discovery? Examples from my life:
- realizing that I could stop buying apple baby food for $.50 a small container and just buy a great big jar of applesauce for $1.50
- figuring out that I could just keep fresh lemons on hand and then have better tasting, fresh-squeezed lemon juice instead of buying the bottled stuff
Well, I had another one of those moments. I get the kids little Crayola washable paint sets and usually they'd use all the paint up in one sitting. It's cheap, and it does clean up well, but I still hated how wasteful it seemed. I even got to a point where I'd cut the cups into groupings to each kid would only get two at a time, which made the paint last a wee bit longer. But it still wasn't great.
But then one day I saw Crayola jars of washable paint; they were still cheap and so I brought them home.
At home I put little bits of the paint on a plastic, reusable plate and let the kids go to town.
It might sound silly, but I really love that I'm able to control how much they use (so there's not oceans of brown paint on the table) and that I'm not pitching paper plates over and over and over again.
And to wrap things up, Hallie totally took my 7QT song for her Five Fave post so if you've got anything you love right now let me know. Otherwise you will all just be getting more Pompeii.
1 - Totally weird video. Don't let your kids watch it until you've watched it and you know you're okay with it. The song though, the song is so great.
2 - I've been checking out a lot of the blogs that were nominated for the Sheenazing Awards and I was delighted when I saw a related post at The Breadbox Letters. Nancy writes that because the awards were named for Sheen she began to dig into his works and writings a bit. Part of the reason I host the awards is to raise awareness of Venerable Fulton Sheen, his holiness and love of God, and his cause for canonization. The fact that Nancy looked into Sheen and was moved by his writings because of my simple little awards - that's just so great. Praise God.
3 - Speaking of Sheen! Check out what one of my blog readers sent me recently:
Look at that, friends! A second class relic! Boom!
Travis and I had *just* been discussing how we wish we had something of Sheen's to pass on to JF one day and literally the next day I got an email from a kind woman named Sharon offering to mail me a book she had that was autographed by Sheen. Love it!
PS - I have no idea what it says...
4 - Awhile ago I asked some questions about make up and I got some really wonderful answers. I also was told repeatedly to NOT USE BAR SOAP ON MY FACE!!! I've been doing a new regimen but I still have a question:
BB Cream wearers, do you put on sunscreen first? Is there a magical BB Cream with sunscreen in it?
5 - Here is an image of two things I love:
window clings and my butterfly bush.
The butterfly bush. One of the best decisions about this house I ever made was planing that bush by the window. Late spring, summer, and early fall it is covered in bright purple flowers and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Late fall, winter, and early spring it is bare but often filled with sparrows, cardinals, and even other birds. As I sit on my sofa I can watch them all and it is awesome.
I know the window cling thing is lame but they are so dang bright and cheery and festive. We've got them for Valentine's Day, 4th of July, and Christmas. I'd like to get some for Easter because I'm adorable like that.
6 - The school carnival was a couple of Saturdays ago. I signed up to make a cake for the cake walk and decided on a 4 layer yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, all made from scratch. Here's hoping whoever ended up with it thought it was good!
Our kitchen is the coldest room in the house in the winter and by the time I was frosting the outside of the cake my buttercream frosting had firmed up so much I could barely spread it.
True story.
7 - So it turns out that I'm going to be able to attend the Edel Gathering in Austen this summer. A HUGE thank you to Jen and Hallie for planning it! Really. I am so pumped. I'll admit that when I saw the list of everyone who is going to be a part of the day I immediately got a stomach ache and felt anxiety over how beautiful and smart and funny and cool everyone is. Eek!
But then I decided to just get over it. I'm going and I'm going to have a blast. Because you know what, people are NICE and it's going to be FUN!
1 - As I was making the Google Doc for the Sheenazing Awards Nominations I couldn't help but sing this song. I know the song is about a broken heart (country music and all) but some of the lyrics still fit, right? ;)
Anyways, nominations will close later today (probably around 9pm) for the Sheenazing Awards. Originally voting was supposed to begin on Monday but I'm going to move that to Wednesday. That will give me more time to focus on taking care of JF, contact all the nominees, and make up the ballot.
Since the whole thing is just for a bunch of fun I'm not gonna stress about it.
2 - On to an update on JF. As of 10pm Thursday JF was doing great. THANK YOU for your prayers! Really, really, truly, completely. At some point Friday we will get results from the MRI (which should show a normal brain) but it may take a little bit longer to get the results from the spinal tap thingy. So it'll be another day and night and maybe day of the hospital for JF.
But power of prayer, guys, power of prayer. Shortly after I posted my prayer request yesterday I headed out to the hospital to find my poor little man flipping out. For over 2 hours he cried and screamed and fought and begged for food, water, and to leave. And then he just fell asleep on my lap and napped for most of the rest of the afternoon. When he woke up after his MRI he looked at Travis, pointed at some blocks, and started building and crashing them down.
3 - Some awesome links you should check out:
Kelly wrote the most hilarious post about the past winners of the Sheenazing Awards.
Kendra was featured on the Today Show website. How cool is that?!
Jenna did a short series of vlogs on how to begin embroidering and then a follow up post on how to transfer patterns. Maybe that's how I'll spend my February, learning to embroider.
4 - How's this for cute:
Ben: (sweetly) How about a kiss?
L: (cheerfully) Um, no thanks.
L: Ben, I folded these [towels] all by myself.
Ben: L! I'm so proud of you!
5 - I have finally gotten Travis to watch (and love!) Doctor Who with me. Right now we're on the Pompeii episode. In one little room you've got Mosley from Downton Abbey, the cabbie from Sherlock, and Doctors number 10 and 12. What a wonderful British tv moment.
Do you think it's because the island country is so small?
That's not supposed to be insulting.
6 - I am not yet tired of hearing the song Roarby Katy Perry. This slightly surprises me every time it comes on the radio.
7 - My mom got all the girls in my family boots for Christmas. I don't know where they came from since she ordered them all online but I love them. I am especially in love with my galoshes. Check out those bling buttons on the top! As I would say, "Too cute to boot!" which I say because I'm a dork. But a dork with fantastic boots.
Because I don't have my act together (and we were out of town for Thanksgiving) I just did the annual hand print turkey craft with my kids today. 1 piece of construction paper + hand print + additional bits to make it look like a turkey + child's name, age, and list of what they're grateful for = as crafty as it gets in these parts.
I keep these hand print Thanksgiving lists with the fall decorations and I love reading the lists each year.
Resa said "monkey" "fingers" and "daddy".
JF said "me" "mommy" "daddy" "trains" "walks" and he named his siblings.
Ben said "chocolate" "coloring" "playing" "going to Mass" and he also named his siblings.
L wrote her own list which included "Jeezus" and "famlee".
Also, I totally haven't purchased Advent candles for our wreath. I'm going to town tomorrow (doesn't that sound so small town and folksy?) so I'll get some then. It's not that big of a deal, though, because I still have Thanksgiving decorations sitting out.
Yesterday afternoon we were coming home from my in-laws and stopped to rent a movie. I thought I'd surprise my husband and get the final season of Breaking Bad, because he loves it but can only watch it on Netflix, which means he hasn't seen the last season.
When I got to the car he was appreciative but pointed out that I only got episodes 4-7. Oops.
Then, I said I'd drive home because he was tired and his stomach hurt. And I hit the curb and we got a flat tire. So then he got to lay on the cold ground and change the tire, after fighting an epic battle to get the spare out of the secret compartment in the van. All said, it took an hour.
I'm so helpful!
The pictures in this post are from my cousin-in-law's house. I love H's sense of style and I am super duper jealous of her home. I love it. Built-ins, radiators topped with marble, all original unpainted woodwork and trim.
Try to look past the guitar case and baby gate and notice the beauty of this staircase. The landing has a little alcove with seating. There's also seating where the guitar case is resting. It's gorgeous. And people, they have a butler's pantry!
Finally, I'm trying to go gluten free for the month of December. So far I've eaten a lot of potato chips and drank two Dr. Pepper Tens. If anyone has better survival tricks please share!
PS - My sister-in-law is awesome. She braided my hair like Katniss Everdeen's because I'm a geek and she's good with hair. Love it!
PPS - Congrats to Sarah who won the Feast! giveaway! Sarah I sent you an email so you can get your gift. Yay! Happy liturgical living to you!
Today is my baking day. I've got bread and rolls to take to my mom's tomorrow. Rolls to take to my in-laws on Friday. Rolls and cookies I'm baking for a friend -she paid me so they have to be good!
Last night I mixed up my first batch of rolls, let them rise, shaped them, put them in the oven to rise again overnight. I also mixed up the cookie dough so it'd be ready to shape and bake first thing in the morning. Lastly, I started the bread in the bread machine.
I went to bed so ahead of the game.
But this morning the cookies didn't bake right so now I'm making them again. Boo hiss.
And those beautiful rolls that were raising overnight? Well, somehow the dropped (I think it was my fault, though I wish I could blame the kids.) I baked them up anyways, for us to eat.
They look like my grandmother's upper arm.
So I had to start those over again.
At least the bread machine loaf of bread turned out well. I can cross one thing off my list.
I also got a new recipe up over at the poor, oft neglected cooking blog of mine.
1 - I heard this song for the first time last weekend. We were all in the van and Travis turned it up while telling me how he liked the song. With the first "Sail" I heard I thought he was saying "Sale" and so I started calling out things like "Buy One Get One!" and "Memorial Day" right before "Sail!". "Fifty percent off!" "Sail!"
chuckle chuckle snort snort. I crack myself up.
2 - L got Resa out of her crib the other morning and then came up to me.
"Mommy, feel Resa's face. It's so fluffy!"
She's pretty much right, too, ya know. I just love, love, love, love baby and toddler skin. It's so tight and smooth and covering a sweet, plumpy adorableness. It's just so fluffy.
3 - Did you hear about Brandon Vogt? Basically one of the most awesome Catholics today - Fr. Robert Barron - decided that Brandon is so excellent that he needs to be working for him. And so now Brandon is. How cool is that?!
And way to go, Brandon! Congrats on your new job with Word on Fire and God bless you and the whole team on all the good work you do!
4 - A few nights ago I had a dream that I was Jennifer Fulwiler's personal assistant. She had become super famous and I think a movie was being made about her book. We needed to order posters to advertise the movie and she told me to get three million. Then Grace Patton called and I took a message because Jen was super busy. When I delivered the message I was scolded because Jennifer will always take a call from Grace and I should always put her through.
For the record, I've spoken with Jen on the phone, exchanged emails with her, and spent time with her in person. She's not a demanding jerk at all so I don't know why I dreamed her that way but it was pretty funny, especially the part about Grace so I just had to share.
I hope you're laughing, Mrs. Fulwiler, ma'am.
5 - There's a lot of conversation going on right now about Halloween. Should we trick-or-treat as saints, as whatever, as whatever but within reason, or not at all. I'm pretty sure that how I feel about it as the mother of small children is slightly different than how I'll feel about it as the mother of teens and preteens but for what it's worth my kids will be pirates and fairies and animals for trick or treating and then saints for the All Saints' party at our church. I'm okay with spooky but not scary, again because of the ages of my kids, and I think there is a lot of evil tied up with Halloween. But I think there's a lot of good in it too, especially when its married to All Saints and All Souls days
So all that to say, I made asked my super talented friend to make a little catechetical coloring book for me to use at the parish Halloween / All Saints' party I'm organizing. We brainstormed together, she drew all the pictures and assembled the book, I proofed it and made some more suggestions, she didn't wring my neck, and now we have an awesome coloring book that you can use too - for free!
Isn't that GREAT?!! You can go to Katie's blog, Look to Him and Be Radiant, for more coloring pages and the whole book! (Plus tons of other great stuff for teens, pre-teens, and kids.)
6 - I really love Deme's blog and I'm enjoying following along with her House For Five's 31 Days of Moving. If you like looking at remodeling before and after pictures you should check it out for sure! Deme is so creative and does a lot of her stuff on a small budget - which I can appreciate.
7 - If you missed my newest video on liturgical living you can find it here. (It's about Mary.) Maybe I should name the videos - like it's a show. Got any ideas? I meant it when I said I'm not always very creative and so I have to look to other people, like Katie in #5.
2 - Because my awesome friend Jen sent me their new cd because she's awesome.
I'm so happy.
In love.
Ahhh! However nice it is to just download a song (which is what I did with their other albums) it's so. great. having the actual cd. Open it, read the liner notes, pull out the lyric book, it's an experience really.
Oh Lord, yes. Let's be still. These are my kind of people.
Oh my gosh! The cd is in a sleeve! Like a record! Seriously! I love this!
Kendra, you tell your best friend to tell her brother that I LOVE his band. And tell her to tell him that I am so glad they don't swear in their music. Really. It's so nice to have thoughtful, well-crafted lyrics that don't have to be edited, to have a cd I can listen to with my little kids.
Not that it will matter to her or him that some stay-at-home, Catholic, Midwestern mommy blogger loves The Head and The Heart. But maybe it will be be nice to hear.
3 - Today I made a batch of cookie dough. I baked one cookie sheet of it so I could make up a plate as a birthday gift. I didn't have time to bake the rest since I had to leave to get L from school so I put it into a container to take to my parents' home to bake and share since we were spending the evening there. I remember carrying the container out to the car along with the plate of cookies, Resa, her bottle, a paci, and my earrings. I remember setting the container on top of the van to open the door. I remember putting the paci and earrings on the front seat, buckling in T and giving her the bottle.
I have no idea what I did with the container of cookie dough. I cannot find it in the car and I drove slowing through town and around every bend on the country roads between our home and L's school. The kids and I didn't spot it in any ditches.
So if anyone finds a container of chocolate chip cookie dough on some country road - or even on the streets in town - please let me know. It's probably mine.
4 - My friend Laura is crazy 'bout 2 things: cats and quilts. Gosh that sounds kinda lame but she's like a hipster, Chicago-living, stay at home momma with lots of tats and so when she does or likes it it's cool. Anyways, she has an awesome quilts Pinterest board. I love seeing her new pins and I want every fourth quilt she pins. These are not your grandma's quilts either, people. Anyways, check out her board and follow along for all kinds of crazy, gorgeous blankets.
5 - Looking for some ideas on celebrating All Hallow's Eve? Check out my post. And if you have any great ideas or blog posts on the same topic please be sure to leave them in the combox!
6 - Related to #5. Watching the videos of myself I realized something: I can't have Travis film me. I felt so much more at ease when it was just me in the nursery with the camera propped up on the play grocery store. Before I filmed with Travis I had a 4 minute giggle-fest because I felt so nervous. I can definitely tell that I'm more stiff in the Halloween video than in the Intro one, but maybe I'm lucky and it just comes off as more professional.
